Mertkan Kantarmaci hoping to keep U.S. success rolling

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci has won six races from 17 starters this winter at Aqueduct. He believes it’s just the start of something big.

“I think this year is going to be a good year in New York,” Kantarmaci said at his Belmont Park barn Sunday morning, a few hours before he sent out Tayler’s the Boss to a 13-1 upset in a $25,000 claimer at Aqueduct.

Tayler’s the Boss is one of about eight horses currently in Kantarmaci’s care at Belmont Park. Kantarmaci, 27, came to the United States in 2016 from Turkey where his father, Tuncay, was a highly regarded trainer.

Mertkan Kantarmaci worked as an exercise rider for his father and also rode a little bit in the afternoon. Now, his father – as well as his brother, Illkay – work with Mertkan in New York. They run a claiming operation where they own and train all of their horses.

“My brother and my dad and I became a good team,” Kantarmaci said. “I get on the horses most of the time.”

In 2016, Kantarmaci started with one horse at Parx Racing and gradually acquired more through the claim box. Among the first horses he claimed was She’s Gifted, who he took for $7,500 and won two races at the $15,000 level before losing her at the claim box. Kantarmaci twice took Sierra Sun for $5,000 and won a total of 10 races from 39 starts with that horse.

Kantarmaci started at Parx but would ship some runners to New York. He has won races at Aqueduct, Belmont, and last summer, he was victorious with one of two horses he started at Saratoga.

“We believe we’re going to go” forward, Kantarmaci said.

Among other successes Kantarmaci has had at the claim box is Reed Kan, who he took for $25,000 and won with for $40,000, and No Distortion, who he took for $8,000 and won with for $16,000 and $20,000.

Kantarmaci’s success has caught the attention of at least one owner. Robert Amendola approached Kantarmaci about training for him and, after talking it over with his brother and father, Kantarmaci agreed. The two claimed Langdarma together for $40,000 on Jan. 18.

“He’s the first person who came to us and told us ‘I like how you guys are running with almost everything in the money, I want to try with you guys,’ ” Kantarmaci said.

The New York Racing Association offers a program called the Under 20 Claiming Challenge. Only trainers with fewer than 20 horses can participate, and horsemen get points depending on where their horses finish. The contest began Dec. 7 and runs through March 31. There is $80,000 up for grabs, with the eventual points leader winning $18,000. Currently, Kantarmaci is the leader.

While Kantarmaci said he would like to win the Under 20 Claiming Challenge, he does hope to a grow a stable large enough where soon he won’t be eligible for that type of contest.

“We want to be successful in this country,” he said.